We review empirical studies on kinship foster care in the United States. We conceptualize kinship foster care within the context of Urie Bronfenbrenner's (1994) most recent ecological systems theory. Because there are multiple levels of influences on the developmental outcomes of children placed in kinship foster home, understanding the…

This article describes how parent-adolescent conflict can be conceptualized from a systems-based attachment model. This conceptualization shifts the focus of conflictual interactions from blaming the parents or the adolescent to viewing the conflict as an attempt to reestablish security needs of the adolescent. Case examples are provided to…

Based on the position that cultural ideologies shape child development, many developmental analyses have focused on analyzing cultural conceptions of independence and interdependence. Less attention has been paid to charting the developmental sequences of children's independent and interdependent behavior that are ostensibly shaped by cultural…

A model of infant social behavior is developed which incorporates attachment to the familiar and fear of strangers as well as detachment from the familiar and exploration of the stranger. (JMB)

Suggests that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently misdiagnosed and provides an alternative way of viewing such problem behaviors in children. Presents a framework that views childrens' behaviors within the context of the parent/child attachment patterns and suggests interventions that shift the focus from the child to the…

The conceptualizations of morphogenic processes suggested by systems theorists provide a useful framework for describing growth and development in complex adaptive self-directing organisms. These processes involve changes in (1) a system's structure, state, or functioning; (2) discontinuities in development; and (3) at least two kinds of…

Argues that although meta-analysis makes an important contribution to summarizing attachment studies, it limits the conceptual understanding to simple causal models and ignores family systems models that could illuminate the development of secure and insecure attachment. Maintains that fathers' role in attachment and the impact of the quality of…

This book, designed for advanced courses on parent-child relationships, examines scientific evidence concerning parents' effect on children's development. Chapter 1, "The Development of Child-Rearing Research: From Mere Beliefs to a More Dynamic Perspective," discusses the beginnings of and current trends in child rearing research and…